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Giant lizards, gnomes, pyramids and UFOs: trip to the Area 51 in Garfagnana

Monte Palodina - The legend of the "green lizard"

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The ancient legends are those handed down by our ancestors and are the stuff of atavistic folk beliefs. But there is another kind of legend. A certain "urban legend” and while this might surprise you, Garfagnana has one of its very own. This urban legend finds its home in Monte Palodina, which, at 1171 metres, is the boundary between the Valleys of Turrite Cava and Turrite di Gallicano, a beautiful natural terrace over the Serchio Valley. The place was and always has been a haven for hikers, mushroom seekers and hunters. It was the latter whose act of cowardice claimed national headlines back in 1987. It sounds incredible, but many people swear they remember the hunter who, when faced by a large squamous creature said to be more than two metres high with a reptile head, ran like hell. The story was picked up by RAI, who aired it on their Uno Mattina programme. From that day on, Monte Palodina earned a chapter in the local X-Files. Many have tried to find the creature, but there is no trace of the lizard. The only tangible sign is what was left of the poor hunter’s gun, destroyed and strangely bent.

Chapter #2

The incredible story of the Palodina gnomes

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This incredible story of gnomes confirms that our mountain is predestined for supernatural happenings. Just two months after the famous green lizard showed its face, some residents of the village of Bolognana, a small neighbouring town in the municipality of Gallicano, took advantage of the beautiful sunny day and went deep into the woods of Monte Palodina for a walk. Suddenly they noticed something about 50 metres away from them - small beings, no taller than 60cm intent on picking something from the undergrowth. Hearing the sound of footsteps, the little men looked up in alarm and promptly (as the testimony recalls) hugged each other to form a circle and rolled down the slope, disappearing into the thick of the forest. As incredible as the story sounds, the alleged gnomes were seen by more than one person, making them harder to ignore.

Chapter #3

Monte Palodina - Area 51 in Garfagnana

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Of all these phenomena, perhaps the strangest comes from the ‘70s when an orange pyramid was seen on the mountain’s summit, disappearing after a moment, or perhaps, it’s in the early ‘80s, when there were numerous sightings and experiences of things impossible to explain. From Gallicano, a pentagonal object with eight coloured lights on top of the mountain was clearly visible. Then there was that person who said he saw eight people staking Pian di Lago (a mountain area) with seemingly futuristic instrumentation, telling him they were there to do surveys because the area was once a volcano. In more recent times, around 1990, a helicopter was sighted, appearing from the darkness and illuminating the woods in search of something still unknown. In 2000, campers once more sighted beings no taller than a metre and once again, they fled scared. Reality? Fantasy? The power of suggestion? We don’t know. The fact remains that Garfagnana is a mysterious place that seems to have evolved its folklore far beyond the realm of peasant culture to futuristic appearances, transforming Monte Palodina into Garfagnina’s own Area 51, home to more than just strange creatures. Of course, if a two metre-tall lizard came to the Piazza in Gallicano for a coffee, it would be quite a sight...